Marilyn Narey

Artist-made paper, pulp, and repurposed needlework; graphite drawings, paintings, sculptures, and installations; super-realistic and abstract; image and word— Marilyn Narey’s complex, intricate works evolve in intimate conversations with her poems. Going beyond any one medium or disciplinary frame, Narey’s richly-layered transdisciplinary pieces emerge from critical sense-making processes: What literal and metaphoric meanings are embedded in the materials she brings together? How will compositional choices engage others with the ideas represented? Narey’s art is the result of exploring the many “voices” of meaning to discern the essence of each conceptual idea. In her multiple, provocative series, Narey examines personal/universal themes of identity through the historical, socio-cultural lens of being female. Provoking critical thinking and dialogue, her multimedia, multi-sensory pieces incorporate visual, tactile, spatial, and aural elements that offer numerous entry points for diverse public engagement and dialogue.

Dr. Narey’s transition to full-time studio work follows a long career as an award-winning multi/transdisciplinary educator, an innovative designer of community-based projects, and an internationally recognized author of scholarly books. Community-engaged multidisciplinary approaches, so integral to her academic work, continue across her studio practice at Radiant Hall McKees Rocks. Narey’s artworks, exhibitions, partnerships, community projects, and workshops are unique, thoughtfully developed interactive experiences. Whether it is through public encounters of her completed creations or during shared art-making processes, her intent is to extend public awareness of our critical need to engage in, and extend our capacities for, making sense of our collective human experience and to creatively work towards our society’s common good.

Photo by Dennis C. Narey